Sarah M

I ve got a lot going on, stay busy, not a ton of sleep at night, but all of this is normal for me. I ve been running for 14 years, so it s not "new" though I have recently increased the frequency of my runs.

But why, even after shorter runs at pretty slow to moderate pace, am I dragging all day long? I just want to crawl in bed. As an aside, I have never, ever experienced the "runner high" from an endorphin kick either (including when I ve run longer distances, like 8-10 miles). Am I just weird?

I'm writing my dissertation and need help answering this question. Please feel free to answer below and collect your points. However, I really would appreciate if you'd copy and share the text below to your social media accounts. Open to active duty and recently discharged/retired (less than 1 year ago) Army personnel.

FEMALE SOLDIER INTEGRATION AND MILITARY PREGNANCY

Are you 18+ years old, and currently or recently (within the past year) serving in a command or senior enlisted advisory role in the active Army? Your opinion matters! Please consider participating in an online research study about attitudes toward pregnancy in the military and policy considerations for integrating female servicemembers into formerly all-male units. The results of this study may help inform decision-makers about how to best implement the gender integration plan based on the needs of our nation’s warfighters.

Access the study online at: https://www.surveygizmo.com/s3/2093014/ALPA

Participation is voluntary and involves 20-30 minutes of your time and the completion of anonymous online questionnaires.

Questions? Please contact Principal Investigator, Sarah McCreight, MS:

Investigator Email: smccreight@usuhs.edu

Study Institution: Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, MD

Please share information about this study with other service members who might be interested in participating!

I've read blogs, other Yahoo! answers, and several running websites (including the "natural running" and "barefoot running" ones). Nobody has specified a length of time (on average) for training the body to being barefoot.

I am active duty military, have altered my running style a LOT already and was surprised and pleased to learn I'm close to getting the "natural running" technique down... I take short strides at a faster cadence, and my foot strikes are below the hip (for the most part). I am not exactly sure where on my foot I'm hitting the ground, but I did notice that I'm running softer (noiseless) than ever before.

I generally take off the boots as soon as I walk in the front door and stay barefoot in the house all the time. I take out the garbage barefoot. My feet are pretty tough.

With all that said, can anyone maybe give me a breakdown of how much time it takes to introduce barefoot running, start getting accustomed to it, and eventually be doing that full time? Also, are there any shoes you would recommend I wear during those times when I have to wear shoes (for uniform requirements) such as during our fitness tests? I don't want to "confuse" my feet or anything. If that's even possible.

I had a lovely little girl 2 1/2 years ago. Now I'm 26 weeks pregnant with a boy. All my friends either had girls, already got rid of their baby boy clothes, or are pregnant with boys. Is it poor etiquette to register for baby clothes (only - no toys) for a second child if it's the opposite sex from your first?

Experts say we have to slow down or halt climate change. But this is a natural occurrence that has been going on throughout Earth's history (including long before we humans were around or had the capacity to do damage to the ozone, etc.). Cyclic periods of warming and cooling are part of Earth's natural operation. So if we try to halt it or change it somehow, wouldn't that ultimately cause more problems long term?

Help me, experts!

Sen. Harry Reid has added repeal of the controversial DADT (Don't Ask, Don't Tell) policy and the enacting of the DREAM Act (whereby children of illegal immigrants brought to the U.S. before age 16 to earn U.S. citizenship by either attending college or joining the military). Additionally, there is rumor that Sen. Reid wants to add a policy allowing abortions to occur in military hospitals so long as federal funds are not used to pay for them (currently women are referred to off-base facilities for this procedure).

The Defense Appropriations Bill is supposed to decide how much money the Department of Defense gets each fiscal year to build on-base housing, finance these wars, pay the servicemembers, and handle our health care.

By adding all the extra controversy, where does that leave us military folks? Will our elected officials fail to vote on this because of the debate? Is it a sneaky plan to shake up mid-term elections rather than focus on taking care of our servicemembers?

Your thoughts, please.

I'm 18 weeks pregnant with my second child and in the planning phase for how we want to deliver. The hospital where I see a CNM (certified nurse midwife) has a tub for labor and birth, so waterbirth is an option there. My first pregnancy was uncomplicated, delivered at 39 weeks. I chose an epidural then because it was my first, but this time I'm exploring options of medication-free birth. I've heard epidurals slow the birth process down, and my concern is this: with my first child (which takes longer) I had drugs (which slow it down), and from the time I walked in the hospital to the time I held my baby was less than seven hours. I showed up at 4cm and got the epidural about 2 hours later, and then 5 hours later I had my baby.

I live in Alaska. I'm due in February. My concern is that I won't make it to the hospital in time because my first child came so quickly (with meds). To avoid the possibility of having a baby on the side of the road in -20 degrees, I'm starting to lean toward homebirth. And, I can rent a waterbirth tub for $350 or so.

Anyone have any information that can help me with my decision? I've scoured the Internet. Now looking for books to read, personal stories you don't mind sharing, and the like.